


Shadow Sun: Afterimages

by Izzu



Series: An honest and truthful world AU [2]
Category: Code Geass
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-05-10 11:09:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 11,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14735844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Izzu/pseuds/Izzu
Summary: Side stories for Shadow Sun. For the bits that couldn't be fit in the main timeline.





	1. Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Decided to do this since I realize how some of the bits I'm writing atm might be overlapping each other and how some might affect the main flow of the story telling. So I might just move the extra bits here instead. 
> 
> Chapter numbering here would reflect the order of the scenes appearing according to the main story.

**Chapter 1.965 Reunion**

* * *

Schneizel continued eying the patient lying on the bed, who had numerous wires placed all over his body to keep him alive until they reached a better facility.

He had his suspicions. He's been considering it for a while ever since the news of Clovis's death came around. Alongside the circumstances around the incident in Shinjuku as well as the rumours of 'Zero' seemingly having a personal grudge against the royal family. A part of him felt elated over the survival of the siblings that he thought he'd lost. Yet another part dreaded the fact since it'd mean that he had another _contender_ to face in his quest to gain the throne. An opponent who would have no qualms about using every means possible to gain their goals, which includes _murder_.

He was just entertaining his curiosities, at first. Examining the area where Lancelot and Gawain were seen together before the explosion. To see if there were any _other_ casualties to be found.

He didn't expect to find 'Zero' lying motionless among the broken rubbles. Barely missing being crushed by the bigger fragments of cement and concrete as if telling him that even the heavens would not let the _youngling_ face death in this way.

The Zero mask was cracked and had been loosely covering the owner's face. It fell away just as he approached the person. As if it was trying to reserve the honour of witnessing the reveal to him _alone_. And Schneizel couldn't even express how he felt at the time.

_Delighted? To be able to see how much the child had grown since the last time he'd seen him? Sadness? For them to have to be reunited in this way?_

Lelouch had started to look even more like their father when the man used to be young. And the black hair that covered his face, the way it was grown unkempt—unlike in the earlier years when it was kept straight—just served to accentuate the air of nobility that never left the child.

Schneizel returned his focus to reality as he watched his brother fighting to live in front of him. Even with the oxygen mask fastened over his face, it seemed that even _breathing_ was hard for Lelouch to do at this time. He frowned. Seeing his brother like this, reminded him of how _Nunnally_ was once also caught in this same situation... eight years ago.

Strange how the past seemed to repeat itself.


	2. Déjà vu

**Chapter 1.852 Déjà vu**

* * *

"Good evening! How unfortunate... it seemed you missed yet _another_ date with the reaper! You're lucky that you're still alive. Judging from the wreckage I've seen earlier, the bomb caused quite a big damage but wasn't too dangerous. I'm quite surprised about it frankly, from the remains that we managed to gather of the bomb fragments I could tell there's quite some _interesting_ stuff in there..."

"Lloyd! Aren't you overdoing it? Suzaku's only just woken up—!"

"Ah! My bad.... but I really wanted someone to listen to what I found out—"

"There's always me after all, why are you bothering the injured—?"

"Yeah... yeah..."

Somehow... this felt _familiar_. It's like how it has been before, during the time he met Lelouch again after such a long time. In Shinjuku, back when the last thing he remembered seeing was Lelouch's terrified face at the prospect of being killed by some random soldiers...

Just as he thought about that memory, another one... a much _recent_ one came to mind.  
_Lelouch standing in front of him in his Zero costume. Lelouch... walking away before they were engulfed in a bright light—!_

_Lelouch!_

"Lelou—!" he gasped out, trying to sit up before the pain started to register all over his body. Cecile immediately turned around to make him lie down again.

"Not yet, Suzaku! You shouldn't get up yet! You've been banged up so badly we needed to have you properly treated before we can let you go—"

Suzaku shook his head as he struggled again to sit up. He dragged his legs down from the stretcher as Cecile proceeded to hold him back from standing.

"What're you going to do anyway in this state?"

"I need... to check...!"

Cecile frowned.

"There's no point for you to go back there anyway. By now the cleanup team should've already finished with the place. If there's anyone at that place with you when the explosion happened, don't you think the team that went earlier would've found them by now? But they only got you,"

Suzaku let out a curse.

_This outcome..._

_...this was not how he wanted to end things between them!_

 


	3. Another Side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest this was the first chapter of this series that I first typed. The rest were just draft on paper. But with me updating the new chapter of Shadow Sun earlier, it might be a good time to add this one alongside.
> 
> For people who might be reading this version of Afterimage here alongside the one on FFN, you might notice that the numbering of the chapters were different here and there. But that's cos on FFN it's much more convenient to number the chapters differently than here. So there's that.

**Chapter 8.341 Another Side**

* * *

 

Cornelia li Britannia went back to the detention cell area once she's sure that her older brother has stopped paying close attention towards her. And she waited a bit _longer_ once she's nearby until she saw Kururugi Suzaku left the area.

Afterwards, it didn't take much for her to retrace her steps to relocate the cell where Lelouch was locked in. Though of course, she had no way to unlock the cell without asking either her brother or Suzaku for the security codes.

Yet it was not as if it mattered. She could still hear Lelouch's voice from this side. Apparently, Suzaku left Lelouch with the other girl that she saw before.

The two of them have been chatting casually to each other. And it sounded like... the two of them went to the same school? Cornelia snorted softly, partially in disbelief at how such thing would happen.

And then the conversation inside turned back towards the royal family, and Cornelia suddenly couldn't help feeling nervous. But whatever it was she was expecting to hear, it turned out _far_ from what she had imagined.

_"That time... the one who was truly at fault, was me."_

She knew it! Euphie... wasn't the type to start a massacre and kill anyone indiscriminately! If she did... then someone—someone must have forced her to do it! Cornelia felt her heart starting to hurt. _But Lelouch... how could he do something like this?_

_"—my Geass suddenly went out of control."_

Cornelia felt her heart went still. _Geass...? What... was **Geass**? _

She took a brief chance to peek in into the cell to find the two sitting against each other on the single bed. And Lelouch had the most sorrowful look in his eyes. Cornelia quickly moved out of sight when she thought Lelouch's eyes would turn towards the direction of the door.

The two started talking again, as Cornelia listened closely to _every single word_ that Lelouch spoke. And the more she listened to his words, the more... her heart hurts. She thought that only Euphemia was the one who had an unfortunate fate— _but so was Lelouch!_ Her tears started to fall as Cornelia continued to listen to Lelouch's voice.

Lelouch had sounded so hurt... and the way he called himself an _idiot_ , he sounded so _resentful_ of himself.

_"Was it hard... having to shoot her yourself?"_

She took another peek inside, and barely caught sight of Lelouch hastily wiping his tears away. Cornelia immediately stepped back and left the cell. Whatever anger that she has left before coming to the cell completely disappeared, and she vowed that she'd find out who was truly responsible for the tragedy that befell her sister.

_For Euphie... as well as Lelouch._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Throughout the rewrite I've been juggling between Schneizel and Cornelia, in which one should I turn sympathetic towards Lulu (in preparation for the latter chapters) considering I'm pursuing the version of Charles and Marianne from Nightmare (without the Eden Vital thing) and Cornelia easily won the vote. So we'll see how it goes from here.


	4. Assignment/Change of Heart

**Chapter 3.291 Assignment**

* * *

"Then... should I check on it _personally?"_

Charles turned around to find the very person he had just thinking about standing behind him. Marianne just smiled at him sweetly.

"After all... there was already a _request for aid_ coming from Area 11. We could always send the _girl_ over by using that reason. And no one would've questioned her movement, given her _position_."

He shrugged. "Very well, something like that could be arranged immediately," Charles started to say before calling someone to pass the order. "Regardless, it shouldn't interfere with _our_ plan."

Marianne smiled. "Of course. We still needed to get C.C. back to our side, didn't we? But dear... if Schneizel got Lelouch, wouldn't that also affect the plan? Aside from the possibility that it might cause C.C. to slip further from our grasp... she might instead try to rescue him herself?"

"Hmm..." All in all, her words had some merit. It would not do to have Schneizel interfering in his work at this point. The plan was still halfway through, there were still so much to be done before reaching the final phase. Schneizel's interference would just put a dent on his task and might even undo all of the preparations that have been done.

_Lelouch... shouldn't fall to the hand of his second eldest._

"Then go... I will leave the rest to your own discretion," he said finally as the lady made some excited noise for being allowed to see her son personally.

* * *

**Chapter 8.675 Change of Heart**

* * *

'Anya' halted the progress of her own Knightmare, Mordred as she started to notice the inconsistencies in the attacks from the Black Knight. It was too odd. The locations of the attacks seemed to have no important significance and from the intel she received from the other squads, she could tell that the enemy's movements did not make any valid sense.

_Those attacks were all just a diversion!_

'Anya' told the other soldiers to go on without her as she turned back towards the Viceroy's Palace... while also observing the grounds for any signs of irregularities. Sure enough, Mordred's sensors appeared to have picked up a signal that might be coming from Gawain. She smiled.

_That should mean C.C. would try to..._

_Marianne_  had sped her approach toward the palace to try to corner her once she appeared to make her escape with Lelouch. But just as she was scanning for any signs of the green-haired immortal, her scanners picked up two life signs on the ground.

_It was Lelouch... and a red-haired girl. But no sign of C.C. with them!_

She contemplated between waiting for C.C. to appear first or to grab Lelouch on her own before seeing Siegfried suddenly making an appearance in front of the youngsters. And that rogue Siegfried... was attacking those two!

From her point of view, she could see that Lelouch and the girl have tried their best to make themselves poor targets against the bulky Siegfried. But when she saw Lelouch faltered a few times while trying to avoid the falling shards all around the area, her _motherly instincts_ immediately tingled.

By rights, her priority should be on recovering C.C... right? But would that... should be at the cost of her son's life? Even if at the of the days, all of them would return to the same collective consciousness... to have to reunite with her child like this...

_"...I will leave the rest to your own discretion,"_

An old memory of young Lelouch calling towards her suddenly surfaced from the back of her mind, and that brought Marianne's attention back to the present. She turned her sight towards the Siegfried again, her mind suddenly cleared of any sort of doubts.

_Recovering C.C. was indeed important, but much more than that... the thing that mattered more was—!_

Regaining her skill as the former Knight of Six, _Marianne the Flash_ piloted the Mordred towards Siegfried before ramming the machine towards the wall...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The shortest piece so far... but I guess I need to place a point of reference as to when Anya arrived in Japan. Might add a bit more bits in this later. Perhaps?
> 
> [Edit] And there goes another complementary addition to wrap her side of the plot for this part. Hopefully, this reads well.


	5. Observation

**Chapter 9.301 Observation**

* * *

He was alone right now. Kallen had just rushed out to get someone to call for a physician—meaning, it wasn't just the two of them in this place?—as he was left by himself to ponder about his situation.

Why did they end up here? Where exactly was... _here?_ Were they still in Japan? Kallen didn't tell him anything before she ran off, so he was not sure about whether or not they were still captives. But she could go out and about freely... did that mean they weren't under Schneizel's custody? Yet if so, why didn't she just tell him?

The air around him felt and _smelled_ different... yet it wasn't completely _unfamiliar_. That made him feel that he was no longer in Japan, but he didn't want to think it to be true. Since that would mean...!

Lelouch shook his head from the troubling thoughts as he ran his hand over the shirt that he was wearing. Well, even if he didn't check it... it would've been silly to assume that he'd still wear his Zero outfit now. Or what's left of it. But the shirt didn't feel as if it was made from those cheap kinds of cloths—not that he'd be too picky about it. It's comfortable.

 _The clothes still felt very new..._ so he had to wonder if Kallen even had the time to go all out just to give him a _new_ set of change of clothes. That _still_ didn't make any sense, given their situation.

He unbuttoned his shirt a bit as he ran his hand over his shoulder. He could feel a layer of cotton dressing over the side of his body. And now that he was aware of it, he realized that both his wrists were _also_ wrapped with similar dressing. Lelouch placed a hand on his head; he could only feel his own hair under his fingers but no other dressing or bandages over it unlike before. Guess the last injury he had there were healed, but that didn't explain why he couldn't use his eyes. There was a small strip of bandage on his right cheek, and that's it.

Lelouch tried to move around the bed, at which he came to a realization that his right leg felt _heavy_ for some reason. Or more like, he couldn't exactly _feel_ his right leg! While it might just be because he had been bedridden for so long, he could still move his left leg just fine. The other leg was just as numb as the other but—he tried to bend his right leg with his hand, dragging it near to where he could reach it. That's when he felt it. _More_ bandage over his shin and right down to his ankle. The bandages felt quite thick too.

Just as he tried to figure out what did his findings of his current state meant, he heard the door open again alongside a flurry of movements around him. He sighed, as he allowed himself to be manhandled by whoever it was that has just arrived.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because trying to reestablish what part of Lelouch was still injured (besides his eyes and right leg) can be a bit troublesome to do, I might as well have Lelouch make the discovery by himself.


	6. Deciding Point, Jeremiah Gottwald I, II

**Chapter 8.785 Deciding Point**

* * *

She thought that it was enough that she incapacitated the unknown Knightmare. But then she saw how the pilot came out of the wrecked machine... seemingly unhurt. And afterwards, her scanners detected... metal and sakuradite on that person?

Marianne hastily landed her Mordred and came out as she rushed towards the point where she saw Lelouch and the other girl, fearing the worst. Since seeing how that rogue pilot was attacking those two, there's no doubt that he intended to take their lives at the earliest chance he got!

That's what she thought until she arrived and saw the half-man (half-machine?) holding Lelouch's unconscious body and crying over it.

"Lelouch... let go of him... you monster!" cried the red-headed girl before she too has passed out.

Marianne frowned. Regardless of the situation, she couldn't leave this situation alone. And she couldn't allow Schneizel to recapture Lelouch—Marianne let out a faint gasp as she saw Lelouch took a few gasps of breath. Meaning that he's still—!

"Come with me, if you want to save that child!" Marianne spoke aloud, as the machine man glanced up towards her. She turned towards the other girl.

She might as well take the girl along as well. Seeing that Lelouch seemed to care about the girl a lot, it might end up being trouble if he didn't see her again later.

She turned back to get into her Mordred again before coming back to fetch the trio. 

* * *

**Chapter 8.99? Jeremiah Gottwald I**

* * *

When he returned without achieving his goals, he went towards the secret laboratory at the heart of Pendragon in order to ease his frustrations. To which he was taken by surprise to see that the researchers were working on something—someone?—as he came closer to check on what was it they were working on.

"What're you doing here?" he spoke as one of the researchers turned around to greet him.

"Master V.V... it's a _cyborg_ that was taken from Area 11. It appeared to have taken quite a bit of damage, so we thought that maybe we could try to repair him."

V.V. frowned. "From Area 11? Who brought him here?" he asked as the man answered.

"Lady Anya did. She came back with two other youngsters, to which they were already taken away for treatment. She didn't know what to do with this man so we offered to take him in."

V.V. frowned again, as he was aware that in reality... Anya was, in fact, _Lady Marianne_.

_So what was it that woman was planning in secret? And **two youngsters**? Could it be?_

He shrugged before turning to take a look at the machine-man. "Very well, do everything you can to fix this man. And then after that, return this man to _Lady Anya_. He should serve her well."

But then a thought had occurred to him to make use of this situation. "But before that, inform me first before sending this man back. I have a mind to add to him a few more _upgrades_ that might turn out to be quite useful."

The researcher nodded his head. "As you wish," said the man before resuming his work on the cyborg. V.V. smiled.

 _What a chance!_ he thought. Just as he happened to have almost completed the _Geass Canceller_ system...

* * *

**Chapter 8.99? Jeremiah Gottwald II**

* * *

The child had arrived at the villa again, asking about any more progress regarding the two youngsters that were taken to the place from Area 11. He told the child nothing much... aside from the fact the prince was still bed-ridden and the girl has done nothing else but to care for the said prince. The child left in a huff again, as usual, reminding him again that it was thanks to him that he was still able to function to this day.

Regarding that, he admitted that what the child said was true. But he had caught some details in the past while those researchers have been repairing his mechanical parts. That whatever that Anya was doing had something to do with the late Lady Marianne and having heard that... there's _no way_ that he could go against his true master's wish.

So regardless of what this V.V. was telling him to do, he would do all he could in order to protect Lady Marianne's only son! Even if that son used to be Zero, the one who had been the reason for his current state. The fact that Prince Lelouch used to be Zero was irrelevant!

What's important now was for him to protect the prince at all cost!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Was mulling about how to type this extra part for a while... and then I just remembered that I still had the plothole regarding the Geass Canceller being unresolved. So might as well fill in the gaps. Need to edit some bits on Shadow Sun to fit these parts in... cos I forgot about it lol.
> 
> Since there's a big time gap in between Muddled Path and Homecoming, I decided to make the chapter numbering being vague to reflect that gap.


	7. Geass Canceller

**Chapter 10.305 Geass Canceller**

* * *

"Kallen..."

"Hmmm?" Kallen glanced up just as she helped Lelouch change into a fresh shirt. "What is it...?"

Lelouch shrugged, as Kallen continued to help him button up his shirt. "About what you told me earlier... regarding Jeremiah's Geass Canceler, how did you end up finding out about it?"

She paused, as she recalled that she did mention it to him before. "Oh... _that_."

Kallen sighed.

"When we first arrived here, everything was pretty hectic. Both of us were taken away by some people to be treated." She shrugged. "The next thing I know was that we were already here by ourselves. Well, technically it was just me having to fend for myself while you're just... asleep. This whole villa was locked tight with us in it but somehow, the kitchen here was well-stocked. So, since we can't escape anyway I just concentrated on taking care of you."

Kallen continued to tell him on how Anya and Jeremiah had arrived at the villa a few days later and how one night while she went out for a drink of water she saw the man talking to a small _kid_ at the front hall. It seemed to her at the time that Jeremiah looked as if he was taking orders from the kid. But it might not be... since she heard how the kid was saying that Jeremiah was _not cooperating well_ despite everything the kid had done for him.

And that's when she heard the kid mention about the _Geass Canceller_.

Lelouch frowned. "Did you catch the name of that kid?" he asked as Kallen nodded.

"I heard V.V being mentioned. And then I remembered that the name was similar to C.C.'s so—"

"He might be related to the Geass, the same way how C.C. did," he turned back towards her. "So you're saying that Jeremiah was working for this V.V.?"

Kallen just shrugged. "I don't know. Jeremiah seemed to be _overly protective_ of you so far, and he seemed to be quite attached to the fact that he used to be your mother's royal guards..."

"And since... that Anya seemed to imply that she was really my mother—"

The two of them just continued to stare at each other, unsure what to make up out of the situation. And then right after, Anya came back to tell them that it's time for them to leave and the two, deciding that there was no point to ponder about it... just got off the bed and followed Anya towards the car waiting outside.


	8. Bathroom Breaks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I already did the edits on the 2 chapters of the main fic pertaining to a certain LuluKallen interaction, I might as well fix this one crack so that it can realign with the other chapters lol. Because yes, this started as a crack, but then I realise I shouldn't really have 'them' crossing that line too soon. Still, the crack's still too precious so I just have to make it even better.
> 
> Because innocent Lelouch is very PRECIOUS.

**Chapter 11.995 Bathroom Breaks**

* * *

_"Ne... how about a bath?"_

"Eh?"

For some reason, the way Lelouch just jumped at her every word amused her greatly. And it didn't help when his complexion was also getting redder after every minute. Kallen continued to stare at him as Lelouch seemed to be able to notice her amusement.

" _Together?_ Eh—No! I mean—"

Kallen giggled again as Lelouch kept jumping like a timid rabbit.

_"If you insist—"_

That last comment made his face turn bright red in an instant as Kallen laughed.

"Oh my god, Lelouch, you're so hilarious right now. And I thought you're not the type to be affected by this," Kallen grinned as she flaunted her body towards him. "I mean, you barely reacted before! Back then when I had to clean myself after you poured champagne on me and that other time with Shirley..." 

"Those things had no relation whatsoever!" Lelouch cried out. "And mind you, that time when we're both inside the bathroom as you showered... I never once take a peek at you. And that other time when Arthur pulled that unfinished dress Shirley made for you... t-t-that time—!"

Kallen leaned closer towards him, as Lelouch wondered if his cheeks could feel any hotter. "What about that time? And are you sure you never took a peek at me before?"

Kallen grinned. "But then again, it's not like it mattered. Since you _did_ get a look at me anyway when I pulled the shower curtain aside without thinking that time. And you _did_  get another eyeful the other time as well."

Lelouch covered his face with his comforter before groaning loudly. "Fine... you win that argument. But why did you have to remind me about that now?"

She just shook her head cheekily. "No reason actually. But really, we might as well have a bath together now. Since the opportunity presented itself!"

"W-wait... Kallen!"

"Come on," she exclaimed again before pulling the covers off Lelouch. "Let's do it before the weather gets colder—" she said again as Lelouch screamed a second time. Kallen let out a sigh as she started dragging Lelouch from the bed. And it so happened, Lelouch's bedroom has an adjoining bathroom. Which made it quite convenient for the both of them.

"Don't be so stubborn, and you'll need my help anyway to wash properly _._.." she said again as Lelouch continued to protest loudly.

Meanwhile, no one outside was ever aware that there was quite _a loud commotion_ happening inside Lelouch's bedroom since Kallen had a mind to lock the room after last night's events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be fair, I'm not against Lulu being portrayed as quite proficient when it comes to expressing his feelings, or just love in general. But hey, I can't see him being completely oblivious or immune by it either. Then again, our Lulu... don't exactly actively pursue these kinda things and most of the time due to circumstances, he did end up bottling everything inside anyway. So with that kind of headcanon, my portrayal of Lulu would've been affected by this. And hopefully, you guys would still him in this series till the end.
> 
> And no... not REALLY gonna turn him into a sort of 'damsel' in distress mode all the time. Just dragging him out of his comfort zone, regardless of what... that supposed to be. Also, no. This wasn't a desperate attempt to try baiting people to send reviews... but those are nice too.


	9. Trauma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna put in a specific time at which this scene happened. But it was definitely after the Sword of Akasha chapter. Keeping it vague because I couldn't really decide where to place this chapter, but it would've ended up being a filler anyway if I put this on the main story.

**Chapter ?.??? Trauma**

* * *

It was a reckless thought, but it was something that he wanted to determine for himself. Then again, he had been avoiding having to pass through this grand staircase for _a long time_. At first, it was because he was in no condition to go here by himself, due to his temporary blindness. But afterwards, it was more because he couldn't even stand being near it at all.

Still, a trauma would forever be one the more you kept avoiding to face it. And given his current situation, there might be a time when he'd have to be forced to face his fears. So, rather than wait for that time to finally arrive... he might as well do it on his own terms.

Lelouch took a long breath as he kept one hand on the railings and another on his crutch. He put one foot down and another, as he slowly ascended the grand staircase slowly.

 _So far so good..._ , he thought as Lelouch hadn't yet felt the need to run as fast as he could from the place. But then, just as he was on the very spot from when he had found the dead bodies at the staircase eight years ago... _it happened_.

_Suddenly it was as if he had been taken back into the time when he was still a 10-year-old boy._

Lelouch glanced down towards his feet. A few more steps downwards, he could still see that one very-much-dead royal guard lying sprawled on the stairs. He could see the obvious bullet marks clearly on the dead man's back. He turned his head towards the other side; and there was that _second_ royal guard, in an almost similar state. And if he looked further below...

He could still hear the _screams_ on that day. It was so piercingly loud...

He still could not comprehend it, the sight of his dead mother's body. And then Nunnally's terrified form underneath her...

_But Mother was not really dead! That was just a body that she left behind! His mother's soul... was still alive! Still..._

"Lelouch! Lelouch! Snap out of it!"

Lelouch blinked his eyes to see Kallen's worried face staring back at him. He glanced around him to see that Jeremiah was also by his side... and somehow he was sitting legs sprawled on the middle of the staircase, his crutch was nowhere in sight.

_Did he fall? He didn't remember falling down..._

"Are you alright, your Highness?"

He stared towards the man blankly as he wanted to say that he's fine. But his voice didn't seem to want to come out.

"What're you doing here?" Kallen spoke again as Lelouch turned to face her again. Kallen lifted her hand to wipe _something_ from his face as he looked at her hand, confused.

_Had he been crying?_

"When we heard you _scream_... I thought something terrible had happened..." Kallen spoke again as Lelouch started to feel his head clearing.

So, that scream he'd just heard... it was _his own voice_. Not from the old memories when he had let out that same scream at this very staircase. It was the _present him_ that let out that scream.

Suddenly he could feel his whole body starting to shake. And without a word, Kallen wrapped her arms around his body and holding him tightly. Lelouch returned the embrace before starting to cry in earnest.

It's been eight long years... yet that horrible memory still felt so _fresh_. As if it happened just yesterday. Even with new knowledge of the _truth_ of what happened that day revealed, that day remained to be one of his most _traumatizing_ experience to date.

_Guess it would be a while before he could ever get over this old fear._


	10. A Royal Visit

**Chapter 13.134 A Royal Visit**

* * *

A lone Gareth was making its way towards the Viceroy's Palace despite the current tense situation. And one Gilbert Guilford happened to be around to notice the arrival. Having been assigned to guard duty by Lady Cornelia—much to his objection, but he wouldn't dare disobey said order—he had to stay behind and protect Princess Nunnally in her steed. In which he didn't really mind it, considering that he'd seen how much Lady Cornelia has cared about the younger one. Considering the loss of Princess Euphemia a few months prior, he knew that his Ladyship would be greatly affected should something happen to yet another sister of hers.

So, he has agreed to stay... despite the fact that there wasn't really much he could do at the Palace compared to how he could do while on the battlefield. Or at least, that's what he thought before one of his subordinates informed him of the incoming Gareth.

So there he was, _waiting for it_. In case it was an enemy... he shouldn't let down his guard when an attack happens. And then he saw the Knightmare approaching the courtyard. Curiously enough, the Knightmare seemed to be holding something in its arms.

The Gareth landed, and true to his earlier assessment... the Knightmare _did_ seem to be carrying something. Yet Guilford didn't expect it to be _a young man_. How did the boy manage to stay on those arm-mounted Hadron Cannons without falling—!

He exited his own Knightmare, before heading over to greet the newcomer.

When Guilford reached the other Knightmare, he could see that the said young man was not just any nameless person. Dressed in an official Britannian uniform, he couldn't help noticing the eyepatch that the boy was wearing over his left eye. The young man had also a small metal case that he brought with him.

Guilford eyed the boy silently as the boy opened the case right in front of him. He almost let out a cry of surprise as he thought he caught sight of the _royal sceptre_ inside the case!

But the boy didn't take out the sceptre, but instead, the boy took out _something else_ that appeared to be made of something metal and some other materials. Guilford gasped as it turned out to be a foldable arm crutch; in which he belatedly noticed that the boy had also some sort of brace on his right leg. He hastily went over to help the boy down and on his feet.

"Thank you..." said the boy before glancing up towards him. "... _Sir Gilbert_. It's amusing for us to meet again like this after so long."

Guilford stared at the young man oddly. "Ah-I'm sorry... have we met before?"

The young man just shrugged at him. "A few times... not that you'd be aware of it. Could you help me carry that case I'm bringing?" Guilford wasted no time to grab the case as the boy turned around towards the Knightmare. "You can go now, _Kallen_. I'll take care of the things here... so you can go to do what I've told you before,"

**"But Lelouch, promise me that you'll be careful!"**

Guildford glanced up towards the Gareth. For some reason, he couldn't help feeling that he _recognized_ the voice. The same with the boy too... but he couldn't place it to where he had heard it before. The boy let out a sigh as if this was not something the Gareth pilot had said to him for the first time.

"I know. Just go already. I'll be fine," said the boy again as the Gareth finally straightened up, and preparing to set off again. By now, the rest of the palace's security units have been alerted to the Gareth's arrival. Guilford hastily ordered them to dismiss and let the Gareth leave.

"Thank you, Sir Gilbert." Guilford turned his attention back towards the boy as the boy gave him a neutral look. Suddenly, he couldn't help noticing that the boy's _eyes_ looked somewhat similar to Lady Cornelia's.

_Who... exactly was this boy?_

"Now... Sir Gilbert, could you escort me to the Viceroy's office since there's something I needed to do there," said the boy again as Guilford snapped himself back to reality.

"Ah, yes. Certainly, my Lord..." he hastily gathered his wits before ushering the young man towards the palace's entrance.

 


	11. Uproar

**Chapter 8.875 Uproar**

* * *

"Ne, Cornelia... have you found big brother?"

Cornelia felt a sudden twinge inside her heart. What should she tell her long-lost sister about this? That Lelouch was also here, locked inside one of the detention cells in the palace? That Lelouch was Zero, and also the one that shot Euphie that led to her death? Or should she lie to her? Saying that Lelouch was no longer—

"He must be worried..." Cornelia glanced back towards Nunnally. "He hasn't come back to the clubhouse for a few days, and if he did... if he couldn't see me at home, he would have been so terrified. Back then, it was the same too..."

Cornelia frowned at her sister. "Back then? What did you mean, Nunnally?"

Nunnally just shrugged. "Back then... when we were sent to the Prime Minister Kururugi's place. One day, I tried to go out exploring by myself. Big brother was not around at that time since he went out to buy some food." She paused as Cornelia urged her to continue. Nunnally sighed.

"I... fell into some underground bunker—Suzaku said it was his other secret place—and I couldn't get out. But _Suzaku_ found me... and later on, we managed to escape. Big brother was just too happy afterwards... but even if he didn't say anything, I could tell that he must've been crying a lot when he couldn't find me." Nunnally turned her face towards Cornelia. "Big sister! I can't... make brother worry like that for me anymore—!"

"Of course..." Cornelia just said, before holding her sister tightly. Yet, she couldn't help thinking back to the time when she had just rushed into the cell without thinking earlier. How Lelouch suddenly started screaming at her the moment he heard that she has found Nunnally.

Back then she thought Lelouch was just behaving erratically as he wants—as to how she used to think Zero had been; just rebelling against them just because he could—but then, the more she thought about it she wondered... was that just Lelouch in a panic? Because of the mere thought of Nunnally might be taken away from him...

Suddenly the alarm was sounded throughout the palace as Cornelia had a foreboding feeling.

BOOM!

The building shook, as Cornelia let out a silent curse, hating the fact that her instinct was correct. The sound of alarms could be one thing; either the palace was under attack or...

 _Lelouch!_  , she gasped. _Of course, what else would it be for?_

Cornelia got up as Nunnally glanced at her, worried. "I'm just checking on something, wait here..." she said before rushing off.

She immediately headed towards the lower floors, where the detention cells were located. But then she changed her minds before heading towards the security office. It was then when she found out about the sudden dispatch of military squads that led them _away_ from the palace, as well as the sudden explosion at the palace's imperial courtyard.

And while Cornelia was checking the security footages, she caught sight of Lelouch and a girl trying to escape the compounds. Right away she ran off towards the supposed location.

xxx

By the time she arrived at the place, the area was already in ruins. She found a wrecked Knightmare on a far-side wall before taking off towards the more badly damaged area.

But nothing. Cornelia could find _nothing_. Her heart had thundered at the thought that she might find her _dead_ brother's body somewhere underneath the rubbles.

Yet the fact that she found nothing put her in a quandary. Should she be glad that there's a higher possibility that Lelouch could've survived with his friend? Yet if he did, would that mean she would have to fight with him again the next moment 'Zero' made his appearance?

Cornelia felt her heart nearly gave way when she saw a small pool of blood on the corner of a pavement that was littered with pieces of shrapnel. A part of her wondered if those blood belonged to her brother—before suddenly her ears caught a sound of movement not far from her.

Her eyes barely got a hint of _green_ flitting into the shadows. Cornelia frowned.

As the sound of the approach of the royal guards came near, Cornelia decided to turn back. She might as well don't mention any of this towards Nunnally.


	12. Unexpected

**Chapter 15.402 Unexpected**

* * *

 

Cornelia walked out silently, before heading towards her own room. There was a lot for her to take in.  
  
She sighed to herself.  
  
When Lelouch had disappeared that night a few months ago, she had been having so many questions in her mind that remained unanswered. And as much as half of those questions she could find its answers from Nunnally, half of the rest remained a mystery. Since those were mostly about Zero.  
  
When Lelouch came back, she thought that it would just be her simply getting the answers that she has been waiting for so long. Cornelia didn't expect to find out half of the 'truths' that she had been going after. Not this _kind_ of 'truth'.  
  
"Was something bothering you?"  
  
Cornelia turned around as she was greeted by the sight of Anya Alstreim, the current Knight of Six. And by the hint given by Kallen and Lelouch earlier, she tried to look towards the girl's eyes for the hints of red around the iris. To her surprise, there was indeed that uncharacteristic _red glow_  around her eyes. Something that never crossed her mind to question earlier, but not it did bother her.  
  
"So... it was true what they said, that you-you're really—!"  
  
The _girl_ gave her a very _particular_ kind of a knowing smile, one she never thought she could see again. And come to think in the past she _had_ been wondering about why the girl had seemed so familiar to her.

"I can't believe it... this cant be real!"  
  
The 'girl' sighed before turning around to head towards the upper floors. Once they reached the aerial garden, the girl turned around to face her again.  
  
"Unfortunately, anything that Lelouch would have told you before this would have to be true."  
  
Cornelia felt as if someone had just pulled a carpet from under her very feet. How could this be the truth? After all the time she spent to find out what _truly_ happened at the Aries Villa... to end up to this revelation...  
  
"How could... you still be alive... in this _form?_ So back then... the reason why Schneizel took your body away—"  
  
'Anya' nodded. "It was just in case it was still possible for me to retake that body back. Though right now, such things didn't matter anymore."  
  
Cornelia frowned. "Because now you have Lelouch paving the way towards the future? What was that Ragnarok Connection plan was supposed to be for anyway? Was that why Father was not bothered much when Clovis was killed? When _Euphie_... was killed?"  
  
Anya didn't answer as Cornelia sighed.  
  
"Regardless... I had to agree with Lelouch. That plan of yours... would not be something that Euphie would wish. It's not what _I_... would wish for. That's not the kind of world that I would fight for."  
  
"Is that... what you've come to decide as well?"  
  
Cornelia nodded silently before glancing back towards Anya.   
  
"That aside... why did you never tell me this before? If I knew... I could've been able to protect Lelouch and Nunnally much better than how I did,"  
  
Anya just shook her head. "No, you wouldn't have. Not back then or even now."  
  
Cornelia frowned as she continued staring at the girl.  
  
"You wouldn't have been able to fully grasp how dangerous V.V.—or even the whole Geass Order—could be or how they could affect the workings of this world."


	13. Dream/Trust

**Chapter 15.890 Dream**

* * *

 

She was wondering if she was still inside a dream; because she could feel Lelouch's hand holding her own right now.   
  
She couldn't see him, yet _that_ didn't mean anything. She did still occassionally had dreams where it was no different than reality; where all that she could see was darkness all around her. This should not be any different.  
  
Yet, if she could thoroughly be honest to herself, she wished that this was no dream. Because all she had ever wanted was to be reunited with her brother, and she wouldn't want even _that_ to be taken away from her.  
  
Also, a part of her had been fearful of the thought that her brother would leave her behind. Was that why he ignored her last night? Was he angry at her for leaving without telling him? Was he resentful of her for letting their big brother Schneizel put her in the position of the viceroy and let herself be used?  
  
If so, she would have readily thrown everything aside. Just so she could be with her brother again. As long as she had her brother again... that'll be enough already.  
  
"Nunnally? Are you awake?"  
  
Nunnally felt her breath catch as she immediately grasped the hand that was loosely holding her own earlier. This wasn't a dream! Her brother was here!  
  
"Brother! Is this really you?"  
  
Nunnally received a hug in response as she took it all in. It was everything that she could have wished for; to feel again the gentle embrace from her brother, to smell again the particular scent that could only be from him... the wave of emotions that she always get whenever he was near!  
  
Nunnally felt a tear drop from her cheek as gentle fingers wiped it away for her.  
  
"I'm sorry... Nunnally," her brother finally spoke before she could feel him gently touching his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry that I went away for too long..."  
  
Nunnally shook her head before leaning in to hug her brother again.  
  
"It's fine... Cornelia was with me all these times, so nothing bad happened. But I did worry before when you didn't come home... and then Sayoko hadn't come back when she went out. I was scared to think that something bad had happened to you two."  
  
And just as she spoke, Nunnally remembered the incident from last night. "Come to think—brother, have you been hurt? Did Suzaku hurt you _a lot_ last night? Why did you collapse so suddenly?"  
  
"It's _nothing_. You don't have to worry about that. I'm fine."

* * *

**Chapter 15.901** Trust

* * *

 

Lelouch let out a long sigh. As expected, his actions last night would have had alarmed his sister a lot.  
  
But then, a lot of things had happened since the last time they'd seen each other. And there's a lot of things... he needed to figure out how to tell his sister about. Not just about their present situation, there's also the thing about their _mother_...  
  
Someone suddenly knocked on the room's door as Lelouch call out for them to enter. He turned to see that it was _Bismarck_ who came to see him.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
Bismarck bowed at him. "Pardon my intrusion, your Highness. But I needed to see you... and I was informed that you're here. Since last night you had collapsed, I wasn't able to tell you about the things I needed to confirm. "  
  
Lelouch nodded. "Very well, what is it? Come to think, I _did_ want to talk to you as well. Since I should be right to assume that you came here with Anya—"  
  
"That is correct, your Highness. I came here due to the summon brought by Anya from the Emperor. And his Majesty had a _specific_ order for me as for what I should do here."  
  
Lelouch raised his eyebrows at the man. "I expected it so. What is it?"  
  
The man nodded. "I am to protect you throughout the time of your stay here in Area 11 and to ensure your safety when you _return_ to Pendragon."  
  
"That was your orders, huh?" he asked before noticing that Nunnally had started to grab on his sleeve in concern. "Well, I still had a few things I needed to do here so I won't be returning to Pendragon until I'm done. In the meantime, I'll leave the security of the palace to you."  
  
Lelouch gave the man another glance as Bismarck remained at his spot. "What else do you want to tell me?"  
  
He could hear the man cleared his throat uncomfortably before speaking. "Regarding that Eleven..."  
  
_Oh, it's about Suzaku..._  
  
"I've heard about it before. How my brother had arranged for him to be part of the Rounds."  
  
He could hear the man sighing in relief. "Then, should I allow him to remain in his current position or do you want him to be _removed?_ I mean, even when the prime minister had been the one that recommended his promotion—"  
  
"I'll deal with that matter myself." Lelouch snapped, almost at once. Then again, considering Bismarck's position... it would've made sense for him to be _wary_ of Suzaku. And to think that someone of Suzaku's rank even dared to be a part of the Rounds—for a moment, Lelouch wondered if Bismarck _knew_ that Suzaku also coveted his position—was completely absurd!

Yet, regardless of everything that had passed between him and Suzaku... he hadn't the heart to take away _anything_ from that person. As much as the idiot's reasoning about climbing up the military ranks was ridiculous, he was still a good soldier. And a _dangerous_ one too. And heaven forbids, Lelouch _didn't_ want to have to fight him as an enemy anymore. As if his heart could take any of that anymore.  
  
"As you wish, your Highness, " said Bismarck before taking his leave. Lelouch turned his attention towards Nunnally again as she finally spoke.  
  
"Brother, what was that all about? Have you been in Pendragon all these times? Did _father_ make you do things again like last time? Brother, please tell me what's going on!"  
  
Lelouch knelt down again as he held her hands gently.  
  
"It's fine, Nunnally. A lot of things had happened, but this time I'm doing this by my own choice. Please trust me,"

_Please trust me..._

Lelouch bit his lips. Despite the words that kept flowing smoothly out of his own mouth, he couldn't really feel it in himself to believe in his own convictions. Could he trust himself? Well, for now... he'll have to. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just realized I had some unresolved loose ends from the last chapter, might as well throw it here. Because these scenes wouldn't have fit in the main story, plus it'll feel more like a filler. That aside, in one of my initial planning, I did originally plan to have Bismarck tell Lulu what was Charles main order for him from the very beginning. But then that went outta the window with Lulu collapsing and him having to deal with Luciano in the background prior to that. XD


	14. Faith

**Chapter 18.729 Faith**

* * *

 

"Are you sure about this, Toudou-san? Can we really trust that kid?"  
  
"What're you talking about Chiba? After all the things Zero have done for us in the past, how could we doubt him now after he finally comes clean to us about his true identity? And the kid's gone through enough by himself!"  
  
"Urabe! Shut your trap! Just because it was easy for you to still have faith on that prince, doesn't mean the rest of us are thinking the same thing."  
  
"And didn't you hear what he said earlier? The kid didn't say that he's continuing the fight against Britannia. If I didn't know better, it looks more like he's joining Britannia's side! Isn't that why that Knight of One was by his side?"  
  
"But don't you think it's good? Up until now, Zero had shown that he understood our plight and struggles. Wouldn't having him in Britannia prove advantageous for us?"  
  
"But what about that Geass thing?"  
  
"Toudou-san, what do you think about it? What other things you've talked about with them at the meeting room?"  
  
If he had to be completely honest to himself, he couldn't be sure what to decide. The things that he's heard from Lelouch, as well as that outrageous plan by the Emperor; to be fair... it was not something that he ever expected to happen. All these intrigues and political fighting, it was not something that he understands well. Not to mention that it was something that he's not sure that he was adequate enough to deal with. If it was just to fight battles and defeat his enemies, he could always do that easily. Fighting... as long as he knew what enemy to fight and defeat, was easier.  
  
_If Kirihara-sama was still alive, what would he do? That person would have known what to do._  
  
Toudou pressed the side of his head as he started to feel a headache coming. Lelouch vi Britannia. If he recalled right, he remembered the young prince to be such a headstrong kid. Back when the kid and his sister was sent to the Kururugi household. Even with the supposed escorts sent by the Britannia with them, the young prince had resolved to do everything on his own. Without help. As if mistrusting everyone around him, even when those people were from his own. And that includes matters that he didn't think a typical royalty would have wanted to deal by themselves. Hard to forget such things when he used to hear Suzaku talked about the siblings whenever their usual kendo lessons started.  
  
And Toudou still remembered the few times when Suzaku tried to get the young prince to practice alongside him. In which, the effort most likely be in vain. Lelouch had been such a weak-bodied child back then. Such a frail child wouldn't have been able to withstand the harsh training for too long.  
  
Yet now, that same child had been able to raise a personal army that managed to cause Britannia some concern. And at this very moment, even bold enough to try to take control of the very country that once abandoned him and his sister!  
  
_Should he really take the risk and place his bets on the boy?_  
  
_"Could I really trust you again this time?"_  
  
He asked that question before, after Ohgi and that other Britannian lady left to make their decision. The kid's answer took him by surprise.  
  
_"It's fine if you don't. As long as I had your support and aid, and everyone agreed to follow what I ask you all to do, I'm fine with not being trusted completely. In the end, all that mattered was to achieve the goal."_  
  
_"Does that goal include Japan's independence?"_  
  
Lelouch easily nodded at that.

_"Of course. But that should also apply to the rest of the Areas that fell to Britannia's control. In short, a world where my sister could live in without worrying about useless things like titles, rank... even the fight for the throne. As long as I can have that, all is fine by me."_

_"You said that you're fine about not being trusted, how should that make me feel better? How would I know that this isn't another ploy by your father?"_  
  
Lelouch had given him an odd look then.  
  
_"That's an interesting scenario, isn't it? Who's to say that my father wasn't manipulating me **still** at this moment? Even then, what do you have to lose? If we could take the battle away from the people who didn't need to have to deal with it and still get to achieve what we aimed for, would you still grasp onto it?"_  
  
Lelouch's words at the time made sense, as much as he hated to admit it. Since it's true. If it was possible for them to continue the fight to free their country without having to involve the innocent Japanese civilians who may get caught in between, wouldn't that be a better option to take?   
  
He thought of the previous things that Zero have done to establish the distinguishing trait that the Order was not just like any other terrorist group. The set of codes that he'd set up, to not just spreading chaos all over the country... but to actually try to make things better for the people of Japan.  
  
_"You said that you've never used your power to force people to obey you. Don't tell me to completely buy that kind of bullshit."_  
  
_"But it's true. Aside from Kallen, whom I wanted to find out her connection with the terrorist she used to be part of, Villetta, who I ordered to turn over her Knightmare to me... as well as Jeremiah, who I used to allow me to safely rescue Suzaku; no other person **here**  has ever been under the control of my Geass. Or do I have to list out to you every single time I've ever used my Geass on others?"_  
  
_"There was no meaning, to forcefully make people serve you mindlessly. A victory gained from that would just be an empty achievement."_  
  
Toudou thought about the sad look the kid wore as he said that. That wasn't the look of someone who would treat the people who followed them as mere pawns. The look that he saw on that kid, made him think of the looks of past great rulers of the past. The look of one who viewed their royal titles and power as a responsibility and a holy burden, not something that should be abused.

Someone like that... even if it was a _former royalty_ from a country that once robbed Japan of its own freedom and authority, should be trustworthy enough in his eyes. Toudou Kyoshiro frowned.

Suppose this means he already had the answer—a proper one—to give to that child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of the exchange in this chapter was originally written for Vero Nihil Verius chapter before it had to be taken out due to it being too long. Well, since it turned out that I only needed to have Ougi to be openly confrontational towards Lulu (in support of Viletta), I might as well move Toudou's part behind closed doors. And it did turn out well. Since I wanted to gain Toudou's trust properly.
> 
> And about time I'm including the rest of the Four Holy Knights in this series.


	15. Path to Nowhere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I. Really. Hate. Trying to figure out how/what to title my chapters as. I mean, sometimes doing that was so easy, but the rest of time... aii. Giving names to stuff is so hard.
> 
> That aside, funny how muses worked. Like the past few months, besides Vero Nihil, I've been meaning to want to write Suzaku struggling by himself ever since the incident at the Science Dept. This mused had been stuck since forever. Yet afterwards... I somehow managed to somewhat get the scene fleshed out. Granted that there are still some parts that weren't included, but now I can just move those scene for the later chapters.

**Chapter 16.85: Path to Nowhere**

* * *

Suzaku leaned over the balcony as he watched the people at the courtyard from afar. The Emperor's flagship, the Great Britannia stood nearby as a group of people walking up to board the ship. He could even pick up Lelouch's silhouette from this distance, as he wore his trademark Zero outfit sans the mask before boarding the ship with Kallen and Cornelia.

Suzaku frowned as he thought about the events from the past few days. What's going on around him? Why did _Cornelia_... side with Lelouch right now? Why would she ally herself with the person who killed Euphie? Even if Lelouch was still Cornelia's half-brother, this doesn't make any sense!

Or else, was there something else that he didn't know? Another side of the truth that he wasn't aware of?

_"You had no idea how Lelouch felt having to be forced to shoot her."_

What did Kallen mean by that? What did she mean by implying that Lelouch was **forced** to kill Euphie? When the one that made Euphie into a killing maniac was Lelouch himself? In what way was he ever be forced to kill Euphie?

But then... what about that incident with Nina? Why did that time it looked as if Lelouch was **remorseful** over Euphie's death? Why did Lelouch try to get Nina to shoot him?

_Could it be, that there really was something that he didn't know? Was that why Cornelia was with Lelouch right now?_

Suddenly Suzaku felt himself wanting to rush down there immediately to find the answer out. The answer was with Lelouch. If he truly wanted to know the answer, he should ask for it directly from the source!

_"...it doesn't concern you."_

Just as he was about to leave, Lelouch's words from before came back to haunt him. And with that, came all the memories from before. That confrontation he had with Lelouch back at the ghetto. Him squeezing Lelouch's neck as his friend laid vulnerable on the infirmary bed. The flash of anger that reflected briefly in Lelouch's eye when they met again at the Viceroy's office.

Suzaku felt his legs going weak as he collapsed on the floor. _What if he was wrong? What if... all this while he had been going on a false track?_

Euphie, even on her deathbed... never named Lelouch as Zero. Until her death, she still wanted to protect Lelouch's secret. She was still _protecting_ Lelouch. Why would she... if she already aware that Lelouch was the one that shot her?

_Would it be possible for him to still find out the truth behind that?_

_"Is there someone you hated so much that you want to kill them?"_

_"I'm about to commit murder in the sky..."_

Suzaku felt himself wince as he recalled his own words. Finding out the truth, was it even a possible feat for him now?

_"We're friends, aren't we?"_

He recalled again how Lelouch had recoiled at the mere touch of their hands. When he had tried to stop his old friend from walking away as Lelouch and Kallen left the Science Department; and that led him to grab any part of Lelouch's body that he could grasp. Lelouch had slapped his hands away, almost immediately.

_"Don't touch me! Don't you ever lay **your hand** on my person!"_

Suzaku started to wrap his arm around his legs as he tried to curl himself into a small ball. Everything was so messed up! How could he ever get himself out of this mess?

_Was it even possible for him to do so?_


	16. Foreboding

**Chapter 18.987 Foreboding**

* * *

 

The Great Britannia left the vicinity of the Tokyo harbour, the assigned location where they have agreed to meet up with the people from the Order. The Ikaruga, the flagship belonging to the organization had also left the place.  
  
Watching over at the control deck of the airship, Cornelia was deep in thought. They have achieved their goals for this trip—or more like _Lelouch's goal_ —yet somehow she wondered if that was enough. Seeing the way Lelouch had tried so hard to win back the trust of his Black Knights, she couldn't help wanting to root for her brother.  
  
To be fair, she could understand the reason why Lelouch would still want to recover the trust he used to have with the Black Knights. It was the same as with her relationship with her _own_ Glaston Knights. After all, it was even more reassuring when you had the support of men you could call your own. Since even if you're of royal blood... there's a limit to how far you can use your own power to achieve what you want. And you could never completely trust that every single able-bodied soldier would be loyal to you and _you alone_.  
  
Cornelia thought of the earlier exchange she had with Lelouch when they were alone. The very thought of the obstacles that they might face onwards, made her uneasy.  
  
xxx  
  
"What you said earlier, was more than what you've told me last night," said Cornelia, once Toudou and the others left the room. "Would you have kept it from me if I hadn't insisted on coming here with you?"  
  
Lelouch shook his head. "No. I would've still let you know about this even if you didn't come along."  
  
"Did that Anya girl told you about those things regarding V.V.? Also, regarding Bismarck."  
  
Lelouch shook his head again. "No. That was something I pieced together from the information I had."  
  
Cornelia cocked an eyebrow at him as Lelouch explained. "Back then when father told me about his past, he mentioned about having _a twin brother_. But then, later on, Kallen told me that V.V. looked more like _a child_. Yet when she overheard the argument between father and V.V., father called the child as his _brother_."

Lelouch rolled his eyes at her before continuing, "And since V.V. was the one who caused my powers to become out of control during the SAZ incident, I deduced V.V. must've had some connection to Geass. Deducing that he could be immortal as well was not really hard after that, considering that I knew of another _immortal_ who happened to _also_ be the one who gave me my Geass. It would've explained why V.V. looked _younger_ than our father."  
  
Cornelia frowned. "What about the thing you said about Bismarck knowing about father's plan?"  
  
Lelouch shrugged. "I figured that he might've known something, considering that father made mother call the man back from China just to serve me. It would've made sense." 

"Even if he seemed to have accepted my decision to change the world the way I wished, he would've wanted to regain some kind of control over me..."  
  
The young prince glanced up towards his sister. "That aside, I'm still surprised that you haven't questioned the possibility that I could've staged all of this by myself. Even after I hinted that it could be when I talked to Toudou."

Cornelia tensed for a moment before relaxing again. "No. It would've been _too elaborate_ a plan, even by _your_ standards."

Lelouch stared back at her in surprise before slumping back to his chair. "Don't you ever doubt me, even for a bit?"

xxx

_"Don't you ever doubt me, even for a bit?"_

Cornelia bit her lips at the recollection before returning her attention towards the monitors. This past year... a lot of things has happened to the world. To her family. _Way_ too many things. She lost a number of people dear to her, regained a few... and lost some more. And the world she thought she knew well, turned out to be something that she never truly understood.

She lost Euphemia, Clovis. But in return, she regained her lost siblings... Nunnally, Lelouch. But with a dreadful cost.

Would it be possible for her to protect anything _still_ at this point?

She wished she could know of that answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I get to finish this chapter. There's another, actually... that should be posted before the last Suzaku's chapter. I'll get back to that once I could sort out how I should wrap that scene.
> 
> And oh! Yes. Happy New Year! Belated, but yeah.


	18. Silent Reassurance

**Chapter 19.435 Silent Reassurance**

* * *

Kallen kept her eyes glued to the windows, even as the airship already flew high enough that she could hardly see any glimpse of the Japanese soil. To think that this would be the second time she's leaving Japan by her own will.

An irony. Since in order to save her country she needed to leave her. But life's full of ironies anyway.

Kallen softly let out a sigh.

The challenges that they're going to face onwards from this, will certainly be filled with hardship. Because in order to restore Japan to the country it used to be, they needed to make happen a lot of big changes. The biggest one of all would involve Britannia itself.

_Could Lelouch truly pull a miracle this big by himself? Could both of them do it?_

Somehow she couldn't be too sure about this. Since in the end, the two of them were still teenagers.

Her thoughts wandered towards Lelouch. Earlier, when she saw how much Lelouch had broken down... she was very much startled. While she was aware that Lelouch cared a lot about Nunnally, Lelouch 's reaction after finding out that someone had broken into the palace was far too extreme.

That aside, when later Sir Waldstein mentioned about an assassin Lelouch 's face had paled drastically.

"Assassination? A palace break-in?" Kallen spoke her thoughts aloud as her mind tried to rapidly process all of the information that she knew. Come to think that last incident at Aries Villa seemed to be related. Seeing that Cornelia had appeared agitated when she mentioned that to her.

_Could it be?_

Before, Lelouch had told her that he and Nunnally's exile and being turned into political hostages had been the start of everything. Lelouch didn't say the reason for the exile but just said it was due to his mother's 'death'. Well, she knew now the truths about the exile and everything else but...

"How's all that connected? Unless—!"

"Do you want to hear about it?"

Kallen jumped and turned around to see Cornelia walking into her cabin.

"Ah! Your Highness—!" she gasped as Cornelia waved her concerns away.

"Since you seemed to be Lelouch's strongest pillar of support at the moment, I thought I should talk to you some more about it. Knowing my brother, he probably wouldn't accept the concerns that I have for his well-being. But for you, I thought he could at least open his heart to you."

Kallen frowned. "What do you mean?"

Cornelia just shrugged. "Judging from your reactions, it doesn't look like you knew about the incident prior to my siblings ' exile to Japan. At least, not the full story."

"Are you going to tell me about it then?"

The second princess shrugged again.

xxx

She knocked a few times to let him know that she's coming in. And as expected, when she came in Lelouch was already facing the door to welcome her.

_"The one who first found the bodies was Lelouch. By the time I arrived at the scene the other servants were already crowding the area."_

_"But there's no mistaking it; the two dead guards were part of the men serving under me and Lady Marianne's lifeless body was lying on top of Nunnally at the bottom of the grand staircase. To think that little Lelouch had to witness all that—!"_

Kallen gave him a weak smile as Lelouch stared at her puzzled. So that why he was so shaken back then, how he used to avoid having gone through that staircase and insisted on taking a longer route to get around the Villa.

_That time, he must have thought of wanting to overcome his past at that spot..._

"Something wrong? Kallen?" Lelouch started to ask as she shook her head.

"Lelouch..."

Kallen cocked her head to the side slightly to appear casual. "You ARE feeling fine at the moment, right?"

Lelouch just blinked at her cluelessly before nodding his head.

"You know that you could tell me everything's that bothering you, right?"

Lelouch nodded again. "Yeah, I know."

Kallen frowned slightly.

"Did you really get what I'm trying to say?" she asked again as Lelouch continued playing dumb. Kallen let out a sigh. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is... I'm here for you. If right now you find it too hard to tell me anything that bogged you down—or if you still had something painful that you kept to yourself—you know if it becomes too unbearable you could always reach out to me, right?"

Lelouch continued keeping silent as Kallen turned to leave. "I'll wait until you feel ready to talk about it. If the burden on your shoulders was too much I wouldn't mind sharing that with you."

"Thank you... Kallen," Lelouch finally spoke. Kallen smiled weakly before walking out of the cabin.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 18.995 Unacceptable**

* * *

It frustrated him that he wasn't included in the meeting between the senior members of the Black Knights and the Britannian envoy. And wasn't he supposed to be covering every piece of information involving Zero as well as everything concerning his public image?

To think after so long having had to wait for any piece of information that Zero was still already alive, he was excluded from the conference where Zero had finally reappeared? As if the recent events involving a third party 'ally' hadn't sounded so suspicious.

Diethard frowned. This won't do. If he had to wring the information from every single person on this ship to get what he wants, he'll get it. That's for sure.

xxx

He couldn't believe what he just heard. That Zero—that former prince!—had revealed his identity to the senior members as he announced that he'll reclaim his former title and change Britannia!

This... JUST WON'T DO! This was NOT the kind of narrative that he wanted to cover! A story of a miraculous hero that toppled the great tyrannical country—there's still much to do before he would be able to document a perfect story with Zero as the titular character! A story about an ousted prince returning to his country to reform his corrupt kingdom—what's so interesting about that kind of narrative?

To think that they barely dodged the issue when that last princess wanted to establish the Special Zone. Back then he had worried that Zero would decide to side with his half-sibling. But then that massacre princess incident happened and Zero was back to reassume his role as the hero against evil. He couldn't let this happen. There's no way that he'd allow something like this to happen!

If Prince Lelouch thinks he could steer away from the narrative that Diethard Reid had planned for him, that prince would soon learn not to mess with him!

xxx

He had hastily gathered all of the past recordings and reports that he took—every single document regarding Zero and Lelouch —before sneaking out towards the hangar. He'll make his escape using any of the spare Knightmares there—it can't be too hard for him to operate one—and acquire access to any underground broadcast station.

He'll shatter the image Zero had accumulated so far and destroy any chance for Lelouch to gain favour from the Japanese population.

In the end, the greatest scoop of the century will still be written by him!

"Ara... leaving so soon, are we?"

Diethard looked up in horror as C.C. blocked his path. He started to back away quickly but no sooner realized that his other escape route was also blocked.

"What's the rush? Are you being expected somewhere?" asked the green-haired witch again before grabbing a loose document that fell out of the carrier bag Diethard was carrying.

She frowned as she realised that it was a printout of an old newspaper article. Particularly about a specific Britannian prince.

"What're you planning to do with this? Then again, you sneaking around like this can't be anything good—"

"Isn't that obvious already, C.C.? Why're you even asking?"

The second woman who was cornering him finally spoke and Diethard was surprised at how _young_ the voice sounded, yet having a peculiar 'old' feel.

But before he could fully grasp the situation, he felt something rapidly piercing his body. The next moment he realized it, Diethard was lying on the floor in the pool of his own blood.

xxx

C.C. stared at the dying man blankly before turning towards her companion.

"You know, you could have warned me first before doing this. I was planning to deal with him in a less messy way."

'Anya' showed her a cheeky wink. "I doubt your way was any better. This guy looked like he had been planning to betray Lelouch the moment he was of no use to him. This kind of person would be dangerous if left alone. We might as well deal with him swiftly before any harm could be done."

C.C. let out a sigh. "I suppose so. I did think that it was too risky for Lelouch to allow this guy to join the order last time. Diethard might be useful at times but a few times I find his actions a bit questionable."

"That aside, aren't you going to rejoin Lelouch? Why did you stay behind? Why did you insist that I also have to stay behind?"

The 'young lady' just smiled. "Why did you think I decided to stay?"

C.C. frowned as the girl just laughed.

"Don't be so stiff, my old friend. It's because all plans needed a supporting _backup_ in case of emergency. That aside ..."

"...perhaps it was better for _you_ to stay away from Britannia for the time being."

Indeed, thought C.C. to herself. Considering that the original Ragnarok plan required the use of TWO codes, it was indeed best for her to not be anywhere near Charles zi Britannia. 

But perhaps the same should be said about having 'Marianne' anywhere near Lelouch for too long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was reminded of the fact that Diethard exists. But since I'm not really fond of writing him I might as well arrange his character to a certain fate so that I don't really have to write about him too often.


End file.
